''Lupinus havardii'' is a species of

lupin ''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet etc., is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur ...

e known by the common names Big Bend bluebonnet and Chisos bluebonnet. It is native to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places *Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mun ...

, where it blooms between January and June. Its habitat includes gravelly, fine talus, and the

alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

soils in the desert, valleys, hills, and mountain slopes. It is an erect annual herb with a slender, branching stem which can reach over 4 ft in height. The height of the flower and plant is dependent on available soil moisture and can be as short as a few inches and as tall as the current record at 5ft 4in. The flower is about half an inch long and purple to blue in color. The spot on its banner is white to yellow turning red once the flower is no longer fertile. This color change makes the flower less visible to bees so they continue on to more fertile flowers. The palmate leaves are each made up of about seven leaflets. In the wild, white and even pink blooming plants are very rarely observed. These rare colors have been isolated and propagated by horticulturalists at Texas A&M University, and along with the blue flowers are available as a premium cut flower. The Big Bend bluebonnet's

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

honors surgeon and botanist

Valery Havard Valery Havard (February 18, 1846 – November 6, 1927), was a career army officer, physician, author, and botanist. Although he held many notable posts during his military career, he is most well known for his service on the western frontier of th ...

. File:Bluebonnets Big Bend National Park.jpg, Bluebonnets in

Big Bend National Park Big Bend National Park is an American national park located in West Texas, bordering Mexico. The park has national significance as the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert topography and ecology in the United States, and was named after ...

File:White Big Bend Bluebonnets.jpg, White and blue Big Bend Bluebonnets in the wild, Presidio County, Texas. File:Pink Big Bend bluebonnet.jpg, Pink Big Bend Bluebonnet in the wild, Presidio County, Texas. File:Pink, White, and Blue Big Bend bluebonnets in a greenhouse.jpg, Pink, white, and blue Big Bend Bluebonnets in a greenhouse. File:Big Bend bluebonnets Greenhouse.jpg, Pink and blue Big Bend Bluebonnets in a greenhouse.

References

Ajilvsgi, Geyata. (1984). ''Wildflowers of Texas''. Library of Congress: 84-50025

External links

havardii Flora of Texas Flora of Chihuahua (state) {{Lupinus-stub